1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the fields of neurobiology, physiology, biochemistry and medicine and can be directed toward the treatment of pain and, in particular, to the therapeutic use of compounds that selectively reduce persistent sodium currents to treat chronic pain.
2. Background Information
The lipid bilayer membrane of all cells forms a barrier that is largely impermeable to the flux of ions and water. Residing within the membrane are a superfamily of proteins called ion channels, which provide selective pathways for ion flux. Precisely regulated conductances produced by ion channels are required for intercellular signaling and neuronal excitability. In particular, a group of ion channels that open upon depolarization of excitable cells are classified as voltage-gated and are responsible for electrical activity in nerve, muscle and cardiac tissue. In neurons, ion currents flowing through voltage-gated sodium channels are responsible for rapid spike-like action potentials. During action potentials the majority of sodium channels open very briefly. These brief openings result in transient sodium currents. However, a subset of voltage-gated sodium channels does not close rapidly, but remain open for relatively long intervals. These channels therefore generate sustained or persistent sodium currents. The balance between transient and persistent sodium current is crucial for maintaining normal physiological function and electrical signaling throughout the entire nervous system.
Clinical pain encompasses nociceptive and neuropathic pain. Each type of pain is characterized by hypersensitivity at the site of damage and in adjacent normal tissue. While nociceptive pain usually is limited in duration and responds well to available opioid therapy, neuropathic pain can persist long after the initiating event has healed, as is evident, for example, in phantom pain that often follows amputation. Chronic pain syndromes such as neuropathic pain can be triggered by a variety of causes, including, without limitation, a traumatic insult, such as, e.g., a compression injury, a spinal cord injury, a limb amputation, an inflammation or a surgical procedure; an ischemic event, such as, e.g., a stroke; an infectious agent; a toxin exposure, such as, e.g., a drug or alcohol; or a disease such as, e.g., an inflammatory disorder, a neoplastic tumor, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or a metabolic disease.
Unfortunately, chronic pain such as chronic neuropathic pain is generally resistant to available opioid and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug therapies. Available drug treatments for chronic neuropathic pain, such as tricyclic antidepressants; anti-convulsants/anti-epileptic, such as, e.g., carbamazepine, phenytoin and lamotrigine; and local anesthetics/antiarrythmics, such as, e.g., lidocaine, mexiletine, tocainide and flecainide, only temporarily alleviate symptoms and to varying degrees. In addition, current therapies have serious side effects that can include cognitive changes, sedation, nausea, emesis, dizziness, ataxia, tinnitus and, in the case of narcotic drugs, addiction. Further, many patients suffering from neuropathic and other chronic pain are elderly or have medical conditions that limit their tolerance to the side effects associated with available analgesic therapy, such as, e.g., cardiotoxicity, hepatic dysfunction and leukopenia. The inadequacy of current therapy in relieving chronic pain without producing intolerable side effects is reflected in the high rate of depression and suicide in chronic pain sufferers.
Recent evidence suggests that increased persistent sodium current may be an underlying basis for chronic pain, such as, e.g., inflammatory and neuropathic pain, see e.g., Fernando Cervero & Jennifer M. A. Laird, Role of Ion Channels in Mechanisms Controlling Gastrointestinal Pain Pathways, 3(6) CURR. OPIN. PHARMACOL. 608-612 (2003); Joel A. Black et al., Changes in the Expression of Tetrodotoxin-Sensitive Sodium Channels Within Dorsal Root Ganglia Neurons in Inflammatory Pain, 108(3) PAIN 237-247 (2004) and Li Yunru et al., Role of Persistent Sodium and Calcium Currents in Motoneuron Firing and Spasticity in Chronic Spinal Rats, 91(2) J. NEUROPHYSIOL. 767-783 (2004), which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. However, at present, treatments for chronic pain characterized by aberrant levels of sodium channel current, such as, e.g., Berger et al., Treatment of Neuropathic Pain, U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,830 (Nov. 18, 1997); Marquess et al., Sodium Channel Drugs and Uses, U.S. Pat. No. 6,479,498 (Nov. 12, 2002); Choi et al., Sodium Channel Modulators, U.S. Pat. No. 6,646,012 (Nov. 11, 2003); and Chinn et al., Sodium Channel Modulators, U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,400 (Jun. 29, 2004), encompass general sodium channel modulators that effect transient currents. As such, the usefulness of available sodium channel blocking drugs is severely limited by potentially adverse side effects, such as, e.g., paralysis and cardiac arrest. Thus, there is a need for novel methods of treating chronic pain that directly modulate persistent sodium current. The present invention satisfies this need and provides related advantages as well.